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A “month of transition”, a “month of opportunity”: The surprisingly wide openings within the continuing lockdown are intended to signal a possible way out of the pandemic. But Chancellor Merkel cautions that the emergency brake built into the tiered plan is at least as important to her.
For more than eleven hours they debated, informed each other and, what they gladly admit, also argued: The chronicle of the harrowing federal-state conferences is a richer chapter after this Wednesday night, but this chapter is at least worth the trouble. worth reading because the summit result is reasonably rich. The federal government and the 16 prime ministers agreed on a roadmap to normalize life.
The route to the final station is not yet available, but at least the direction is clear: Counties with stable incidences below 100 can, if their respective federal states play along, relax in small steps. Counties with incidences below 50 are relaxing in bigger steps. If you go over 100 you don’t have to go to jail, but go back to the beginning. Angela Merkel calls this “the emergency brake” which, in her opinion, makes the compromise justifiable. In turn, he no longer clings to the controversial incidence of 35, which has been practically buried.
Exit with the parking brake on
Here’s what it looks like: the step-by-step plan.
Great concerns about a third wave and the need to give people perspective were equally responsible for this summit outcome. “Today we can talk about hope and the transition to a new stage,” says the Chancellor, because she knows that the decision will allow wider openings than previously expected. “We are in a very delicate phase,” he warns shortly after, because he fears that the British mutant of the coronavirus could destroy all the blockade successes.
Along with Berlin Mayor Michael Müller and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, Merkel continues to demand discipline. The phased plan works with many imponderables, perhaps the biggest of which is how the relaxation signal will affect the reluctance of the population, which is already in decline. “We hope that March will be a month of opportunities”, says Söder and also asks for “prudence”. The summit “found the right balance, but now we all have to support it in practice.”
Conditions are conditionally met
Unlike Merkel and Müller, the head of the CSU admits that the basis for easing is unstable: March is a “month of transition, because in reality two good instruments, tests and vaccination, are not in the capacity to use other instruments to replace them. ” Söder does not hide the fact that the essential prerequisites for a real relaxation course are not met: “When it comes to testing, we are not as advanced in Germany as we would like.” And: “When it comes to vaccination, we are not where we want to be in international comparison.”
The openings are flanked by a test offense whose implementation raises many questions. Starting next week, all German citizens should be able to take a quick test once a week for free. How are the test centers going to be built from scratch? Opened. However, in the medium term, Merkel says she is confident in the availability of self-tests that are easier to handle. According to information from RTL and ntv, the federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, has not yet received this order. Now a working group is to be formed for the mass acquisition of these self-tests. Or also: only now.
Question mark with vaccines from the family doctor.
Disagreement between the lines also on the issue of vaccines: Merkel speaks of “potential for improvement” because the vaccination intervals are going to be lengthened and family doctors and specialists will also be included soon. However, Söder and Müller emphasize that they worked specifically to achieve this inclusion at the summit. In fact, questions about billing and documentation of vaccines in practices are still unanswered, which is why von Spahn does not yet have a corresponding vaccination ordinance.
“We have to create the infrastructure at an early stage,” says Müller, although we can no longer speak of “early”. Time is running out because a veritable wave of vaccine deliveries is expected from April. Söder praised the fact that he and Müller “felt” at the summit that there was an openness in the federal government when it came to the involvement of resident physicians. The federal government and the federal states, despite all the ostensible unity, struggle to attribute responsibilities between the lines: on this occasion, Müller refuses on behalf of all prime ministers that the federal states would not quickly inject the vaccines. The figures reported on this were not correct.
Many of the challenges and pitfalls of the new step-by-step plan are the responsibility of the person not sitting in front of the microphones at the end of the summit: Jens Spahn. While Germany has to prove its worth week after week, perhaps in March for the first time to be able to attend cultural events or participate in group sports (Merkel calls the advocacy criteria “incentives”), the man who has been exploring his possibilities chancellor during Christmas. Urge to deliver. Literally: test equipment and an efficient vaccination organization. Because the step-by-step plan is not only testing the population: the federal government must also comply with the summit agreements so that the spring of 2021 is really different from the previous year, a freer one.
